After The War
by xox-Rachelle-oxo
Summary: HPCC The war is over. Can harry and Cho get through past troubles? Please R&R!
1. They're awake!

After The War

Chapter One: They're awake!

Harry slowly opened his eyes as the sun streamed in through the window. It took him a moment to realize where exactly he was, and as he started to regocnize the familiar white curtains and metal beds all lined in rows, a thousand memories came rushing back to his head

"Harry!" shrieked a feamale voice.

"Her...Hermione...?" asked Harry, struggling to make out who was speaking to him. He couldn't black out again...

Harry tried to turn over onto his side, but when he made the slightest move, he let out a gasp of pain. He could hear familiar voices to his right calling for Professor Dumbledore, the Headmaster.

Harry leaned back on his pillows and let all the awful memories flood back...Voldemort was gone. His friends, they'd all helped, he would have died without them...Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Cho, Fred, George, Neveille, Dean, Seamus, even Draco, a new addition to his group of friends. All Harry could remember of Voldemort's final defeat was him standing there...pain beyond pain, even Dumbledore couldn't help him, but just before he was knocked out from over-exhaustion and overwhelming pain, he rememberd feeling a huge sense of ease, as if his subconsious knew that it was over.

Dumbledore burst into the Hogwarts hospital wing just as Harry began to come around and was feeling his hand beside him, groping for his glasses. Harry let out a small grin when he saw Dumbledore's face - his eye's hadn't twinkled like that in far too long.

"Harry! You're awake! Excellent! You gave us quite a scare for awhile there, but Poppy came through once again! I've had Professor Snape prepare an intense painkilling potion for you, but it won't be ready until tomorrow. For now, I know that you are in a lot of pain, but I daresay Ronald, Hermione, and Giverva wouldn't mind giving you a hand up to your common room, much to Poppy's distaste," Dumbledore said with a smile. "We have healed your injuries as best as we can while you were unconsious, so feel free to head back to the common room as soon as you feel ready," and with another wink and a whip of his cloak, Dumbledore swept out of the room.

"Always the same..." Harry murmured.

When Dumbledore left, Ron immediatly stood up from his chair by the door and called for Draco who was standing just outside the hospital wing door. The two gave Harry an admirng grin and stood on either side of Harry helping him to his feet, sensing he would be eager to get back to the Gryffondor common room as soon as possible. Hermione kissed Harry on the cheek, as did Ginny, and they both walked behind Harry, Ron and Draco. The five of them slowly made their way back up to the Gryffondor common room, not saying much.

Harry noticed that Ron was starting to look rather pale, and kept glacing at Harry, then quickly looking away.

"Ron?" asked Harry puzzled, "Is something wrong?"

Suddenly Ron stopped, turned toward Harry, and gave him a hug. Gentil, but friendly all the same."Harry, you - you almost died! I sat there day after day, watching you struggle to live! You are one of my best friends! If anything had happened, I..."

Harry could tell that Ron couldn't continue, and like they were reading eachother's minds, he and Hermione both stepped up (well, Harry more limping then anything) and gave Ron a huge, comforting hug. Draco stood there watching with a nice smile on his face, and after a moment, he and Ginny joined the group hug as well. Then, the five of them started laughing, all of them just happy to be together again, unthreatened by a certain You-Know-Who.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Draco all broke apart as all of sudden, hundreds of pounding feet sounded above them.

"Oh shit!" exclaimed Ginny, checking her watch. "It's dinnertime!"

"Come on then, lets get Harry out of here and out of they way!" said Draco.

They started to move towards the Great Hall thinking they could make it there before the crowd of students did, but before they had taken more then a couple of steps, they heard a girl's voice shout;

"Harry! Holy shit...you're alive!" And in a rush of movement, Harry found himself surrounded by a large amount of black, silkey hair.

"Uh...Cho?"Harry asked as he was being hugged tighter and tighter.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" exclaimed Cho, releasing her grip on Harry and looking him in the eye.

"Don't mention it, I'm okay. Just a little bit sore still," said Harry giving her a reassuring smile.

Harry noticed that people had stopped on the stairs and in the hallway, all craining their necks to get a good look at him, almost as if not believing their eyes. Once that shock wore in that it really was Harry - a little bruised and cut but basically okay - standing in from of them, the crowd slowly started to make their way towards the Great Hall again. All except for a few; Fred and George Weasly, Dean Tomas, Seamus Finnigan, Neveille Longbottom, Parvati Patil, Lavender Brown, and Katie Bell, all crowded around Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Draco. They hugged everyone, gave praise on Voldemort's defeat, and thanked Harry, with only Cho not saying anything, silent tears pouring down her face, just staring at Harry looking very sad. Harry took her hand in his, and as he stood there, explaining (rather modestly) about his triumph over Voldemort, with Cho holding his hand, he felt truley happy for the first time in much too long.

Everyone decided to head up to the Gryffondor common room, with no objections to Draco and Cho tagging along. When they got there, they all sat in the squishy armchairs and couches by the fireplace. Cho let go of Harry's hand to go and sit with Lavender and Parvati, but she left a note in Harry's hand and whispered, "Read it later!" with a smile.

Professor McGonagal appeared later the evening with a tray of food and an enourmous smile on her face.

"I noticed several of my Gryffondors missing at dinner, so I decided to bring up some food," said Professor McGonagal. "With the help of Dobby, of course," she added with a slight smile at Harry.

Dobby emerged from behind McGonagal with a shy smile and another tray of food. He waved at Harry and said "Hello Mr.Potter," then began to place the food on the tables near the fireplace. Harry grinned at him and tried to get up on his own to greet him and help him unload the food, but he let out another gasp of pain and stayed put. Everyone looked over at him concerned, and it was hard to tell who was more worried, Ron or Cho.

"You okay mate?" asked Ron, reminding Harry of Mrs.Weasley.

"Yeah..."said Harry slowly, rubbing his sore ribs. Almost every move he made sent sharp pains up his sides and, though he hadn't really looked himself over yet, he suspected that he had some pretty serious cuts and bruises on his back and stomach.

"Are you sure you're alright Harry?" asked Cho, standing up and sitting down beside Harry while Parvati and Lavender exchanged sly smiles. Harry turned a little pink, but smiled at Cho and moved over to make room for her. He thought about the note she had given him that lay unread in his pocket.

The group sat talking for hours while a warm fire burned in the fireplace, and as the minutes ticked by, more people joined them just returning from supper. Harry just sat and talked, enjoying the feeling of being with his friends again, not to mention Cho was holding his hand again and leaning against him ever so slighty, often making eye contact with him and blushing.

When the sky started turning to a pinky-orangy glow, everyone decided to head back to their dorrmatories and sleep in until noon. Fred and George clapped Harry lightly on the shoulders, Dean, Neveille and Seamus gave him a high-five and told him they'd wait for him upstairs. Parvati and Lavender hugged him, Draco smiled and said, "Latter Potter." Looking teary, Ginny and Hermione kissed him on the cheek, and Cho looked teary as well as she kissed him on both cheeks and squeezed his hand. She gave him one last hug, as if to make sure he was okay, and turned to walk out the Portrait hole.

Ron helped Harry up the stairs, and when they reached the sixth year boy's dormatory, Dean helped him into his pyjamas with Ron and Seamus started to unpack some of Harry's things. Just as Neveille offered to help Harry into his bed, Seamus came up with an idea.

"Hey guys?" What if we all just grabbed our blankets and pillows and slept on the floor? I mean, Harry...I just...remember last year? You had those nightmores, and if you have them again...then we'll all be here for you." Seamus looked at Harry, hoping he wouldn't feel like he was being put down, especially after the horrible way he had acted towards his friend last year.

Harry understood, and was grateful. He nodded at Seamus and threw his pillow at him with a grin, as a way of communicating a thank you.

In minutes, the floor was covered with fluffy pillows and soft blankets, and Harry, Ron, Dean, Seamus, and Neveille were all nodding off. The last thing Harry did before falling asleep was read the note from Cho he'd pulled out of his pocket earlier. He fell asleep with a smile on his face, drifting into a deep sleep almost instantly.

The note read:

Harry,

Meet me in the Room of Requirement tomorrow at exactly noon. We have to talk. Love,

Cho

xoxoxo 


	2. New beginnings

Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter related characters! I wish…! Thanks so much to Yin-Yang-sama and Dragon Sword Master, my two loyal fans, hooray! You guys rock!

**After The War**

**Chapter Two: New beginnings.**

The next morning, Harry awoke to find that Dean and Seamus were gone, but Ron and Neville had just finished getting dressed. They were standing near Ron's bed laughing about something, and when Ron saw that Harry was awake, he threw a pillow at his head.

"Oy mate, finally, I thought you'd be asleep forever, it's already eleven. You haven't moved at all this morning, we were up at eight," he said.

Harry laughed and said, "Hey, it was long night."

He remembered that he had to meet Cho at twelve. He wasn't sure whether he should tell Ron or not, but when Neville said he had to send an owl to his Gran and left, Harry decided that Ron could at least help him find something to wear.

After Harry had explained to Ron about the note, and told him what it said, he asked, "Er, could you - could you help me pick out something to wear?"

Ron started sniggering and said "Oh, does ickle Harry wanna look nice for his girlfriend?"

Harry could see the start of uncontrollable laughter, so he said quickly, "Well, it's just that my clothes aren't exactly in the best shape, being handed down from Dudley and all." At the mention of his cousin, Harry wondered if the Dursleys knew what happened. Better yet, he wondered if they cared.

Ron stopped laughing and went over to his dresser. He picked out a black shirt with pink writing on it. "You can borrow this. Dean gave it to me, but I dunno why the hell it says 'Rancid' on it...it's a cool looking shirt though."

Fifteen minutes later, Harry and Ron were heading down to the Great Hall for breakfast. They sat down with Hermione and Ginny and started on some turkey sandwiches.

"Oh, Harry you will not believe what I heard in the loo this morning!" squealed Ginny, grinning.

"Oh for heaven's _sake_ Ginny, don't be ridiculous. Morning Harry, Ron." said Hermione trying not to sound pleased with her and Ginny's eavesdropping skills, though she was smiling slightly too.

Ron looked from Ginny to Hermione and said, "I don't know if I want to hear what you heard in the Girl's bathroom..."

Ginny scowled at Ron and said, "Well I bet Harry does. See, me and Hermione were wandering the castle, and ended up using the bathroom by the Ravenclaw dormitory. Then, who do we hear but Cho and some girl, what's-her-name, that blonde girl in Ravenclaw. Apparently Cho dumped that sneak friend of hers, Marietta and she got all huffy with Cho and started yelling at her in the middle of the corridor, by the Charms classroom."

"Oh," said Harry, secretly glad that Cho had gotten rid of Marietta. He had never liked her anyway. "That's, erm, nice."

"And," said Ginny eagerly, "That's not even the best part. She also said that she was really excited to be meeting a certain someone at noon today. Said she really hoped she could straighten things out with that 'hot Harry Potter'."

Harry's face turned a brilliant shade of scarlet as he tried to avoid everyone's eyes and look down at his plate. He wondered if Cho really was looking forward to seeing him. He knew that things hadn't really ended on good terms, but Cho _had_ been there to help with Voldemort's downfall. Harry was so confused. It seemed like Cho did care, but how could he ever live up to someone like Cedric Diggory?

After lunch, Draco came over to the Gryffindor table. He gave Ginny a smile and she immediately got up from the table, said " 'Bye everyone!" and was gone. Ron glared after her retreating back until she was out of sight.

"Would you relax?" said Hermione, sounding exasperated. "Ginny's a big girl, she can date whomever she likes."

"What! Date! Excuse me; she can date whoever _I_ like. I dunno about that Malfoy..." Ron said.

"Stop being an idiot! We made peace with him, you're just inventing reasons not to like him so you have an excuse for Ginny not to date him!"

While Ron and Hermione started a heated argument about Ginny, Harry quietly slipped away from the table and started up the stairs. He knew those two could be at it for ages, and he didn't want to be late for Cho. He winced a little as he took his first step up the staircase. He had gotten round to looking himself over, and noticed that he had some nasty cuts and bruises. He supposed they must have been much worse before if Madam Pomfrey hadn't been able to completely heal them.

When Harry reached the door to the Room Of Requirement, he took a deep breath and opened the door. He saw Cho standing by a window. Her long silky black hair was down around her shoulders, and she looked really pretty in a pair of jeans and a pink Roxy t-shirt. She turned around and when she spotted Harry, and let out a huge grin.

"Hey," she said. "You made it."

"Yeah, erm, I did." said Harry, smiling nervously.

"I just..."Cho began. "I just, wanted to, you know...clear things up, about us. I'm sorry I got jealous of Hermione. I know you two are just friends, and I've gotten to know her, I really like her. But, there's something you don't understand about me and Cedric. We - we weren't dating when he died."

Harry gave her a surprised look and waited for her to continue.

"I...I know you felt bad, like I just picked you second best to Cedric, but it isn't like that. I liked you for ages, but then Cedric asked me to the Yule Ball first...anyways before he died, we decided that he was more like a big brother to me, and we broke up. I think he kind of knew that I liked you, but I guess you didn't," Cho laughed a little and took Harry's hands in hers.

Harry didn't know what to say. He definitely felt better that he wasn't just Cedric's replacement or something, but he couldn't imagine for the life of him why Cho would like him over Cedric, or anyone for that matter.

"I, erm, I don't know what to say." said Harry truthfully. "But, it's not just your fault that things ended badly. I was taking out my anger on you, and that wasn't fair either. It's not your fault what Marietta did."

"Thanks Harry," Cho said. "That's really sweet of you." She reached over to give him a hug, but he winced in pain when she did.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry!" Cho exclaimed.

"It's okay," said Harry sheepishly. "I'm still waiting for that potion from Snape, and then I should be okay."

Cho looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, "Harry? Could I see what happened to you? Can you show me your bruises?" She knew that it was an odd request, but she wanted to know what Voldemort had done.

"I, uh, are you sure? It's not pleasant," Harry tried to laugh, but Cho looked serious. She also looked sad.

"Yeah, I am. I just want to know what He did to you."

Harry looked her in the eyes and had never seen someone look at him in such a caring way before. "Okay," he said simply.

Harry lifted off his shirt and Cho took his hand and squeezed it, trying to let him know that even though she had screwed up before, she really loved him and wanted to be there for him.

His stomach was covered in black and purple bruises. It looked he had been beaten about a hundred times over. He had cuts all over, and Cho could tell some of them were deeper then others. Like someone had carelessly slashed him with a knife multiple times. She turned to look at his back and tears filled her eyes. She just couldn't imagine how someone in this much pain could be so brave all the time.

Harry hugged Cho, but this time she didn't cry. She'd done way too much of that, and if Harry could be that brave, she most certainly could. "I love you Harry," she said, looking into his emerald eyes. "I'm really sorry."

Harry kept her gaze and said, "I love you too Cho," and pulled her close to him again.

Cho had to admit that even though this was a serious moment, Harry really did look sexy without a shirt on. What used to be a small, skinny kid had turned into a fit, really adorable guy. He really had grown up, but Cho could see that now that Voldemort was gone, Harry had gotten some of his innocence back. She leaned her head against his chest and ran her hands lightly along his muscular stomach, and he put his hands around her thin frame. Harry really thought that she was the most beautiful girl in the world, with her long, silky black hair, freckles sprinkled across her nose, and when she smiled she could light up a room.

"Just a quick question," Harry said softly into her ear. "Does this mean that you want to be my girlfriend?"

Cho laughed. "Only if that's your way of asking."

"It is," Harry said, and leaned in to kiss her.

A tingling sensation filled his entire body. This time it didn't end right away. He kept kissing her, and she kissed him back, her hands going up his back, and running through his messy black hair. Cho leaned into him, kissing him deeper. Harry groaned into her mouth and started to move his tongue towards her mouth. Her lips parted easily and she allowed him to explore her mouth. They stayed like that, snogging each other, until a voice broke them apart.

"Excuse me Mr. Potter, but this is a school, not a pub."

It was Snape.


	3. Lean on me

Ugh, I just choked on this gross peach flavoured water crap...not that you care because I _FINALLY UPDATED_! It's taken me forever, I know, and I'm sorry to say that this chapter will be short. I knew I wanted to make a Harry/Cho-not-being-a-bitch fanfic, but now I don't know where I want the story to go (any ideas will be SO helpful!) So, here goes, hope it's not too crap!

**Disclaimer:** I clearly do not own anything Harry Potter because if I did, no one would read it...lol.

Chapter Three: Lean on me.

Harry and Cho jumped apart, both their faces turning scarlet. Of course it _would_ have to be the teacher who absoluty hates Harry the most walking in on him, that was just Harry's luck.

"Professer...I- I" Harry stammered before Snape interupted him.

"Potter, do you honesty think I care about you undoubtedly facinating social life? No. I just came by to drop off you potion. The Headmaster said you might be lurking about the old DA headquarters," Snape smirked at Harry, cold eyes glinting. "Clearly he was correct." He set a steaming goblet on a table near the door, and without a second glance he stalked out of the room.

Harry let out a breath he hadnt realised he'd been holding, and to his amazment Cho started laughing.

"I can't believe it..."Cho laughed, eyes sparkling. "Of all the teachers, eh?"

Harry laughed too. "I can't believe. Sometimes I wonder if he's just following me, trying to catch me at my most awkward moments."

"Oh, was this just an awkward moment for you Potter," Cho said playfully.

Harry grinned shepishly and said, "That's not what I meant."

"Oh yeah?" Cho challenged. "Prove it."

Harry wrapped his arms around her waist again and kissed her full and hard on the lips. "Proof enough?" he asked.

"Mmhmm," said Cho, kissing him back again. "Definetly."

After awhile, Harry and Cho thought it would be prudent to go back to the Gryffindor common room and find the others, before the got caught snogging again. Cho threw Harry his shirt, but not before telling him the she certainly didn't mind the way he looked without it. Harry blushed and quietly put his, or rather Dean's, shirt back on. Before he left, he grabbed the goblet of potion, planning to drink it later.

As they started to climb up the staircase to Gryffindor tower, Harry's muscles started to ache and seize up. It seemed to take a remarkable amount of effort to climb one step, and Cho noticed that Harry was grimacing after each stair.

"What's the matter?" Cho asked Harry as he clutched is side in pain.

"I don't know," Harry said heavily. "I'm just really sore all of a sudden.

"Here," Cho said and put her arm around his waist. "Lean on me, I'll help you."

"Thanks," said Harry, kissing her swiftly on the mouth.

"Oy, looks like Harry's got himself a girlfriend!"

Harry look up startled at the top of the satircase and saw Ron, Luna, Ginny, and Draco all looking back at him.

Harry laughed and said, "Thanks for that very _loud_ announcement Ron."

Ron grinned at Harry and said, "Hey mate, we're going to Hogsmeade for a Butterbeer, why don't youand Cho come along?"

Harry looked at Cho and she nodded with a smile. "Okay," he said, "Just let me put this goblet upstairs."

"Here let me," said Cho putting her arm on Harry's shoulder. "I'll just be a minute, and I left my purse with Lavender last night anyway."

When Cho was gone, Ron and Draco leaned in to Harry and Ron asked, "So? Did you guys kiss or what?"

Harry looked from Ron, to Draco, then down at the floor. "Erm...well, yeah, we did."

"Ha!" laughed Ron. "Famous Harry Potter does it agagin, eh?"

"Shut up," said Harry turning red.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who had some fun today," said Draco giving Harry a wink. ROn started to ask Draco what exactly had happened betwene him and his sister, but Harry put a hand on Ron's shoulder and said, "Just let it go mate."

When Cho came back down the stairs, she once again put her arm around Harry's waist, supporting some of his weight. Draco took Ginny's hand, and Ron and Luna trailed behind, walking beside eachother, out into the Entrance Hall.

"Well," said Luna, "Let's go!"

So...how was that? Turned out a little longer then I thought it would be, but not too long. I'll write more after my final exams which start this week on Wednesday, and end next week on Monday - yes! But I could use your ideas for couple pairings. Draco and Ginny are kind of set, but what about Ron...and Luna? Hermione? (I left her out of this chapter because I'm kinda leaning towards a RW/LL thing, but I'll put her back in). Who should Hermione be with? I just don't know. Tell me what you think. Please R&R, thanks!


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